Marines and an interpreter with Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, conduct a census patrol in order to speak to the local populace in the Helmand province of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Dec. 22. 3/8 is the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force – Afghanistan. (Photographer: Cpl. Pete Thibodeau, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan.)

Lance Cpl. James Welch, a rifleman with Company I, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, looks through binoculars on the rooftop of an abandoned house in the Helmand province of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Dec. 21. 3/8 is the ground combat element of Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force – Afghanistan. (Photographer: Cpl. Pete Thibodeau, Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force - Afghanistan.)